Google Play Games, an Android gaming service… on PC!

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Google Play Games, an Android gaming service… on PC!Google Play Games, which was already tested in certain Asian markets at the beginning of the year, is now entering the US and some key markets (Brazil, Canada, etc.). If you run your Android games on your PC, will this Steam-like service arrive in Europe?



After the failure and abandonment of Stadia, Google is not throwing in the towel on video games. And launches its “Google Play Games” service in the United States, Canada and a few other markets. As the “Play” entry indicates, this is a service supported by its Android vertical. And as your brain very intelligently suggests, it should be seen as a service that lets you play your Android games… on PC. Yes, you read that right.

Also read: Google will (finally) close Stadia, its cloud gaming service… and refund you (September 2022)​

The service, which was announced last December 2021, had only launched in January 2022 in some Asian markets: South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Australia. Today, in addition to the United States, Google Play Games is coming to Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore. Google Play Games consists of a PC launcher for Windows and allows you to continue playing certain mobile games on your PC and thus enjoy more comfort.

The word “some” is important here, as not all titles are natively compatible. Whether it’s verifying the portability of the graphics engine or supporting peripherals, there’s work to be done to ensure games run smoothly. This means that for now we have to settle for a few dozen titles (85 at the time of writing these lines) that have been validated by the service.

No state-of-the-art PC required




Google Play Games has nothing in common with Stadia and therefore the service does not depend on the cloud gaming, but well and truly on the power of your PC. But fear not: it is not necessary to have a racing machine, far from it. Because the Google teams have refined their machine. Initially, the PC client had an eight-core (octo-core) processor, 20 GB of free SSD space, 8 GB of RAM, and a “class gaming “. Now Google indicates that all you need is a processor with four cores (quad-core), 10 GB of free space on an SSD, 8 GB of RAM and an Intel UHD Graphics 630 chip. Since this GPU integrated into Intel processors first arrived in the Core 8e generation. To keep to chips of 10e generation engraved in 14 nm+++ (the Ice Lake versions were engraved in 10 nm and integrated the Iris Plus GPU, predecessor of Xe).

Also read: After the failed Stadia, Google is relaunching video games with Chromebook gaming (October 2022)​

Suffice to say, any PC from four to five years old should be able to comfortably run Android games. And that any more powerful GPU will logically give you more comfort. These minimalist requirements make it possible to realize that PCs are still much more powerful than smartphones.

Smartphones that offer very good image quality… mainly because the intended screen size allows them to omit certain performance-intensive effects. One thinks, for example, of anti-aliasing (anti-aliasing), complexity of shadows, etc.

Google counts on mobile on PC… and Microsoft the opposite



Like our colleagues from Gizmodo, Google follows in the footsteps of Microsoft… but in reverse. Google is getting into mobile gaming and making attempts on PC – fire up Stadia and now Google Play Games. But in this game, we can only see that Microsoft has the advantage.

Also read: Soon you can play on xCloud with keyboard and mouse (March 2022)​

In addition to its home consoles, Microsoft is already a heavyweight in PC gaming – through the operating system, APIs (DirectX), Windows Store, PC Game Pass subscription, etc. And it is he who wants to expand into the mobile market, by far the most dynamic, with stones like his xCloud. Or a very soon evolution of its Android Xbox application that could come with a series of games dedicated to this universe. And in this game, Microsoft has a big advantage over Google as it is a publisher (and even a developer) of titles. Role that Google left when it closed its Stadia-related studios.

So if we can see the arrival of Google Play Games as a nice free bonus, Google has yet to develop its offer to do something else. Let’s hope that the American giant, like Netflix or Apple, expands its offer with a wider catalog of games, possibly free or at least at reduced prices. There he would inspire us.

Source :

Google Android Developers (blog)
 
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